He trained in Paris with Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin and then François Boucher, winning the Prix de Rome in 1752. He excelled as a painter, draughtsman and printmaker. Though his reputation rests indubitably on his Rococo scenes of intimacy and joie de vivre, in which he captured the essence of an era, his talent and fluid manner can also be seen in his skilful portraits and landscapes. During the Revolution, he assisted in organising the opening of the Louvre as a public museum.